I can help you speak
by HiddlesBatched98
Summary: Teen!lock. Sherlock has selective mutism, but John wants to be friends with him. Will they become friends or not?
1. Chapter 1

It was an early Monday afternoon and John was in chemistry, not paying attention to the teacher. He was distracted by a boy, a clever boy who went by the name of Sherlock Holmes. He didn't talk to anyone, which is what made John all the more interested in him.

"Watson, pay attention" The teacher said as he drew up more equations on the board

John sighed, there was only 2 minutes left of the lesson until lunch, why should he start paying attention now? He continued to stare at Sherlock, who had noticed him and glanced over. The bell went and John left with Mike to get his lunch, but he was still curious.

"Mike, do you know why that boy Sherlock doesn't talk to anyone?" He asked, before taking another mouthful of food. He knew that Mike had managed to speak to him once before, but they had never spoken since.

"Sherlock? He has selective mutism, it's useless trying to get him to talk, so I wouldn't bother" Mike said, shrugging his shoulders as he did.

John stared at Mike "Useless?" He said, retorting slightly. John immediately put his lunchbox back in his bag and slung it over his shoulder, getting up. "I'm going to see if I can talk to him"

John walked away from Mike, thinking about how he had said it would be useless attempting to talk to Sherlock. He walked over to the last table in the hall, where Sherlock was sat alone, doing homework with his untouched lunch out on the table. John stood in front of him, smiling as Sherlock glanced up at him.

"Hi, I'm John, John Watson, we're in the same chemistry class. Can I sit here?" He asked, holding out his hand for Sherlock to shake, which he didn't.

Sherlock looked up at him once more, seeing the hand and staring at it. He was always anxious in these sorts of situations and didn't really feel very comfortable talking to anyone but Mycroft, but he was away at private school. He stared at the boy standing in front of him 'Why is he here? Why does he want to talk to me?' Sherlock thought to himself, nodding for John to sit down and then continuing with his homework.

"I understand that you want to be by yourself, but I want to help you" He said, watching Sherlock closely, noticing his eyes were starting to water. He wrote down his address and his phone number on a piece of paper and giving it to Sherlock.

Sherlock took the paper, trying not to cry. What was happening now was getting too much for him and his anxiety was getting worse. His pen was shaking as he was trying to write and it got to a point where he couldn't write at all. Sherlock took his pen, his homework and his lunch, flung it in his bag and walked away. John realised this was his fault and ran after him, stopping in front of him and hugging him. He didn't know why he was doing that, but he was pretty sure it would help Sherlock to stop crying.

School had ended and John was walking home with Mike. "So, how did it go?" Mike asked, always curious about being in other people's business.

"Well, he started crying, I didn't know what to do so I hugged him and he calmed down" John responded, still a bit concerned about him. John overheard some jeers from boys behind him, calling him gay and taking the mick because he tried to calm down Sherlock. He turned around and confronted them "I was helping him. Call me gay again, I dare you".

Mike pulled John away from the other teenagers and continued to walk home with him, asking once again about Sherlock. "So, did anything else happen?" He asked.

"Well, I gave him my address and my number in case you know, he wanted to see me" John said.

Mike shrugged and left John once he reached his house. John said goodbye and walked to his house and walked through the door when he heard a knock. He turned around and answered it. It was Sherlock, and he handed John a note, asking if he could come in and go somewhere quiet so they could talk.

"Yeah, sure, come in" He said, letting Sherlock inside "We can go up to my room if you want"

Sherlock nodded and followed John upstairs into his bedroom, where he sat on the floor. Sherlock still didn't speak, but patted the floor, indicating for John to sit next to him. He took out his note pad and pen and started writing down what he wanted to say.

The paper read 'Thank you for today, nobody has helped me like that. Please can we spend more time together?' and John laughed softly, responding to the paper "Yes, but you won't be able to talk, will you?" He asked, to which Sherlock shook his head. John smiled at Sherlock "It's okay" he said "We can work you through this, and get you talking to me"

Sherlock nodded and stood up, waving John goodbye and leaving. John went downstairs and he was stopped by his mum. "Who was that John?" She asked him

"Oh, that was Sherlock. He's in my chemistry class" John said "He also has difficulties talking… Selective mutism I think it's called"

"Oh, well he seems like a lovely boy, you should have him over more often" John's mum said, making John laugh slightly.

John went into the kitchen and got a drink before going upstairs, realising that Sherlock had left his notepad here. He was tempted to look through it, but he didn't, he couldn't. He'd only just really met Sherlock and he didn't want to break his trust already, so he put it in his bag to take to him the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, John went to find Sherlock during break. As usual, he was sat on his own at the end table in the hall, only this time he wasn't doing his homework. John sat down next to him and Sherlock smiled at him.

"You left this yesterday" John said, taking Sherlock's notepad and pen out of his bag and giving it to him "Don't worry, I didn't read it"

Sherlock took his belongings and smiled, as if to say thank you to John. He didn't want to stay in the hall so he stood up, taking hold of John's arm and leading him to the back of the field where it was quiet. He sat close, but not too close to John, just close enough so he was comfortable. He took his pen from his pocket and wrote 'So what do you want to talk about then?'

"Oh, I just want to know some basic things about you, you know." John said, looking at him as he started to write. On the paper, Sherlock wrote 'My first name is William, but don't call me that, I don't like it. I have an older brother, who is incredibly dull and I would like to speak to you'. John read the paper and smiled. He was glad that Sherlock wanted to speak to him, but was confused why he used a different name. He didn't question it though. They sat together for a few more minutes in silence as John observed Sherlock's behaviour, pulling blades of grass up and picking flowers apart. He occasionally glanced over at John and smiled, but he didn't do it for long.

The bell had gone for next lesson and Sherlock had waved John goodbye, leaving him to walk to class on his own. As soon as he sat down, Mike walked up to him. He didn't look to happy, he looked more worried.

"So, you are in today then" He said, sitting down.

"Well yes, where else would I be?" John asked, confused

"Oh I don't know, at home ill. Where were you at break then?" Mike asked whilst writing down the stuff from the board

"I was with Sherlock. He asked me to be with him. Well… He more, wrote it down than physically asked, but still." John shrugged as he spoke. He didn't see a problem with not being with Mike at break, he'd have to get used to it anyway.

It had been a month since John and Sherlock first spent a whole break together and their friendship was getting stronger. Sherlock still hadn't spoken to John yet, but he was having less panic attacks when they were together. They now sat next to each other in chemistry and Mike didn't want to be friends with John. Sherlock sat in class, writing down his own work as he didn't do GCSE level chemistry and John glanced over at his work, surprised.

"Wow, you know all that? That's… Amazing" He said, staring at all the equations and diagrams on Sherlock's paper. His handwriting was messy, but he understood it, having spent a month reading it. Sherlock looked up at John and nodded, smiling brightly. He hadn't received a compliment like this and usually people just called him a freak for knowing so much.

"Hey, you've got to teach me some of that sometime" John said, smiling at Sherlock. Sherlock shook his head, indicating that he wouldn't be able to teach him.

School ended and Sherlock was going home with John today. As they walked, John spoke "You're doing really well you know, agreeing to sit with me and my parents" He said, patting Sherlock on his back. Sherlock smiled and laughed slightly. It was the first time John had heard him laugh and he thought it was the most adorable thing ever.

John opened the door to his house and he and Sherlock walked inside, placing their bags on the floor and walking into the living room. John sat down first and then patted the seat next to him. Sherlock sat down just as John's mum came through the door.

"Oh, hello boys. It's nice to see you again Sherlock, are we okay today?" She asked, placing a plate of biscuits down on the table. Sherlock nodded and took a biscuit, smiling at her as if to say thank you.

"Thanks mum!" John said, immediately grabbing the plate and putting it on his lap. He pointed at the plate, indicating that Sherlock could take some if he wanted.

John and Sherlock spent an hour in the living room with John's parents present before Sherlock felt uncomfortable. John's parent's kept trying to make a conversation with Sherlock and Sherlock couldn't tell them to stop. Sherlock took hold of John's shirt, shaking it slightly before running out of the room and sitting on the stairs. John walked out, following Sherlock and sitting next to him. Sherlock had buried his head in his hands and started to cry.

"Hey, it's okay Sherlock. If you didn't want to talk you should have shook your head or something," John said, putting his arm around Sherlock. "You know, this hasn't happened in so long, you should be proud of yourself"

Sherlock smiled at John and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He opened his mouth to say something but could only manage small noises. John stared at Sherlock, nodding at him, encouraging him to speak.

"Th-thank you, J-John" Sherlock said, stuttering as he spoke. He threw his arms around John and hugged him, crying into his shoulder.

Both Sherlock and John walked back into the living room. Sherlock was going to leave now, and he just wanted to wave John's parents goodbye before he left. John walked Sherlock to the door and said goodbye before Sherlock unexpectedly hugged him again, causing John to rest his arm around Sherlock's back.

"See you tomorrow Sherlock" John said patting Sherlock's back. Sherlock nodded, smiled at John and then left.


	3. Chapter 3

John laid on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, proud with himself. He, John Watson, a mere sports player, had made one of the most nervous kids he's ever know actually speak to him. He and Sherlock had of course exchanged numbers during the first week they met, so they would often text, but getting him to speak? That was on a whole other level for John.

The next day came, and like he had promised, he saw Sherlock again, only this time they were able to make conversation without the need of a notepad. John flung his bag down on the floor and sat across from Sherlock at the table. Sherlock glanced up and smiled "H-Hello John". John looked at him, curious, wanting to ask if he was generally a stutterer, but thought it best not to.

"Hey Sherlock. It's nice to hear your voice, it's slightly deeper than I would have first anticipated it to be, but it's still nice" He smiled and looked at the work Sherlock was doing

"Th-Thank you. Asides from m-my family...You're the o-only other person I-I speak to" He smiled, but a little embarrassed by his level of stuttering "I-I don't normally st-stutter..."

"That's fine, you can take as much time as you need. You've only just started to talk to me so it's perfectly understandable" He tried to reassure him

Sherlock smiled and nodded "Thank you" He said, and then looked down at his work. He noticed that John was looking too "I-I could...Try to h-help you learn this" He looked up at him and turned the paper around, pushing it in his direction.

John looked down at the paper, he was curious, but he didn't want to learn it, so he shook his head and pushed it back. "It's okay, really. Say...I know we've only really known each other for about a month...And you've only just started to talk to me...But I want to ask you something Sherlock." John muttered, looking up at Sherlock

"Wh-What is it John?"

"Sherlock, I want to ask you if you'll be my boyfriend...Now you don't have to say yes but-" John was interrupted by Sherlock

"Of course I will" He smiled, nervous and blushing. "C-Can we...Go somewhere...To the b-back of the f-field?" He asked, starting to put his work away.

"Uh...Sure, okay." He said, nodding and picking his bag up. He walked with Sherlock out of the dining hall, past the subject blocks and to the back of the field. When they arrived, John and Sherlock both sat down. "Why did you want to come here?" John asked, slightly confused.

"W-Well...S-Since you asked me t-to be your b-boyfriend...I realised h-how long I-I had been waiting for you to ask," He muttered, taking John's hand in his "A-And how much I love you" John turned to face Sherlock and watched him, but made sure not to prolong the eye contact, not wanting to make Sherlock too nervous. Sherlock continued to speak "W-When I first met you J-John, I knew you were d-different...That maybe, w-we could be more than f-friends if you ever spoke to me." He smiled and shifted closer to John "I-I've wanted to do this for a while..."

Sherlock looked down at John's lips, like he knew what he was doing, when in reality he didn't. He leaned in a little and hesitated, John was waiting. Sherlock took a while, making John gently place his hands on Sherlock's cheeks and kiss him, longer than they had both expected. When John pulled back, Sherlock stared at him, his face completely flushed red and his mouth still slightly open. John was the same, face flushed red, mouth still open. Sherlock looked down and smiled "I-I liked that...I liked that kiss...I-I'm sorry I didn't kn-know what I was doing." He whispered and John smiled "Hey, it's okay. That was your first time I'm assuming...It was mine too" He reassured him.

The bell went and Sherlock and John were in the same class this time, chemistry. They walked, and Sherlock took John's hand in his, smiling softly and ignoring the abuse they were getting shouted at them.


End file.
